6-year-old gets a ride with strangers after Victoria bus mishap

Nona Dennis was relieved - but horrified - when strangers in a blue car dropped her 6-year-old grandson off after his first day of school at Torres Elementary.

Her family waited for hours outside their house in the rain for his arrival, but he got off in a pasture near their Brentwood subdivision and became disoriented.

"I said, 'Oh God, honey, what have we told you over and over again (about getting in the car with strangers)?' But he just said 'I was cold and wet,'" Dennis said.

Konner, a first-grader originally from San Antonio, said the bus driver was screaming at kids to "shut up." He was scared and returned home at 5 p.m., she said.

Diane Boyett, a Victoria school district spokeswoman, said although bus drivers are allowed to discipline in order to maintain safety, saying "shut up" would not be a good way to go about it.

Children Konner's age would not be dropped off at a stop like the one Dennis' described unless accompanied by an older sibling or with an adult waiting, Boyett said.

She did not have any specific information about the situation so could not comment about the mindset of the bus driver, who zoomed off when Dennis tried to flag down the bus multiple times, Dennis said.

Parents may visit visd.com and click on the "Transfinder" link for bus route information, which is still developing.

"Our bus drivers, by the end of the second week, know everything about that child, including their relatives and the name of their dog," Boyett said. "It's OK for a child to say, 'I don't think I'm supposed to get off here.'"